March/April 2024 - 60

DFI-India 2024: 13th Annual
Conference
The 2024 annual conference is being
held September 19-21 at Panaji, Goa, in
collaboration with the IGS Goa Chapter.
Purnanand Savoikar, Ph.D., IGS Goa
Chapter chair, is the conference chair
supported by Shukla and Sunil S.
Basarkar, Ph.D., as technical committee
chairs. The conference includes expert
keynote lectures, paper presentations, a
Women in Deep Foundations (WiDF)
India event, student awards, and special
sessions and debates on the latest
techniques and future trends in the deep
foundation industry in India and worldwide.
It also provides an opportunity for
various stakeholders in the foundation
construction industry to showcase the
latest technologies and equipment.
For more information, please visit:
https://dfi-events.org/india24/
Committee Activities
DFII's Geotechnical Characterization for
Foundations Committee conducted two,
five-day workshops on Geotechnical
Investigation Laboratory Testing. The
first at Cengrs Geotechnica laboratory in
Noda in September 2023 and the second
at L&T Research & Testing Centre,
Chennai, in January. These programs
were attended by participants from
across the country. DFII is getting ready
for the next workshop at the National
Academy of Construction in Hyderabad.
The DF I I St uden t Ou t r e a ch
Groundwork Committee wrapped up its
Groundwork 2023 webinar series with
an online panel discussion on August
17, 2023, and launched the 2024 series,
with the first webinar conducted on
January 23.
The committee announced the Best
Thesis Award for Researchers and the
Best Project Award for Graduate
Students during the 2023 DFII Annual
Conference in Vadodara. A hearty
congratulations to the recipients,
Keerthi Raaj S, research student, Indian
Institute of Technology Madras; and
Vishnu Venugopal, master's student,
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee.
We have formed a new committee
to promote helical pile construction
in India. DFII's Helical Pile Committee
is being chaired by me, Mohan
Ramanathan, and will initiate its
activities soon.
The WiDF India team held a onehour
empowerment session during
DFII's Annual Conference 2023. The
team also conducted an in-person event
at the Indian Institute of Science,
Bangalore, on December 8, 2023. The
team is currently working on conducting
in-person events at different
locations in collaboration with local IGS
chapters/institutes.
DFII's Training Committee on
Foundation Technologies successfully
conducted two training programs on
Support Fluids for Foundation Construction
and Tremie Concrete for Deep
Foundat ions during March and
September 2023. These programs were
supported by respective EFFC/DFI Task
Groups. These programs gained a lot of
popularity in the industry and were
attended by more than 200 delegates
from various companies/institutes.
DFII Executive Committee
Meetings
An in-person executive committee
meeting was held on October 5, 2023,
during the annual conference. The
committee discussed the ongoing
conference and next conference details
along with other technical committee
activities and initiatives. The committee
also met on February 3 to
discuss 2024 conference preparations
and membership status. Technical
committee progress and plans were
presented.
60 * DEEP FOUNDATIONS * MAR/APR 2024
https://dfi-events.org/india24/
March/April 2024

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